Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Lemurs on the loose cause havoc in Miami

It was a case of lemurs on the loose in a North Miami Beach neighbourhood early on Monday morning. North Miami Beach Police say they received a call at around 2am of two monkeys attacking a girl.

The 2-year-old girl had been getting out of a car with her mother when she was scratched in the face by one of the lemurs, police said. Officers were able to capture one of the lemurs after it jumped on top of a police car. The owner was able to catch the other lemur. The girl was treated by fire rescue workers at the scene and wasn't hospitalised.

The owner of lemurs, Julia Hincapie, who keeps them in cage in his backyard, said someone broke in and that's how they got loose. He added that he has a permit for the lemurs. "They were just, they were scared, that's it, they were running around, everyone was chasing them, a lot of lights, they were scared," Hincapie said.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was at the scene investigating. "We have called out FWC who is gonna come out and make sure that he is licensed, inspect the cages to make sure that their integrity hasn't been compromised because of a possible attempted burglary," North Miami Beach Police Sgt. Richard Rand said. "Our main concern right now is to make sure that the neighbourhood is kept safe."